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tv   France 24  LINKTV  May 28, 2015 2:30pm-3:01pm PDT

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host: we start with the corruption scandal that has engulfed the fact -- engulfed fifa. sepp blatter has refused to step down despite a chorus calling for his resignation. russian president vladimir pugh 10 is backing bladder for a fifth term. -- vladimir putin is backing bl
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atter for fifth term. reporter: the football world is rocked by corruption scandal. he urged blatter to resign. >> i have a feeling that the fbi is doing what fifa should have done before. i am disgusted. reporter: they have often been embroiled in corruption allegations. on wednesday, things took a drastic turn. several officials were arrested, accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes. this, just as they are set to elect a new leader. sepp blatter is seeking a fifth term. he says he is not to blame. sepp: people hold me responsible
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for the global football community. i cannot monitor everyone all of the time. reporter: he says the presidential vote will go ahead as scheduled on friday. in all, 209 member associations are eligible to vote. the african and asian confederations have expressed their loyalty. the head of uefa thinks it is time for someone new. >> during the election, of the large majority of the european nations people are fed up, they no longer want the president but who i don't want anymore either. reporter: at least 45 nations will vote for the jordanian prince. blatter needs a two thirds majority to win.
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europe's vote alone will not be enough to topple him but it would send a strong message after 17 years at the top of the game. host: reaction has been pouring in from the world of football. reporter: the football body kicked off its annual conference. it is not only activists that have raised their voices. >> we need these organization to show that they are approachable. they are approachable in organizing competitions. that also in all activities related to the sport. >> there is no doubt that they need to clean up their act. there are millions, perhaps billions of football fans around the world. they want to know the game is clean.
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reporter: this hit the heart of fifa at the time that its president is seeking a fifth turn. the members will vote against blatter. meanwhile, agents will back the bid. so does the russian president who accused the u.s. of meddling in their affairs and suggesting that it was an attempt to take the world cup away from the country. >> there is the attempt to spread their jurisdiction to other states. reporter: france is implicated. south africa is also implemented -- advocated. france is not responded, while south africa denies any wrongdoing. the scandal would not damage brazilian football, they said.
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post: i'm joined from washington by a lawyer and former federal prosecutor. thank you for talking to us. can you explain how and why this did to hold fifa to account started in the u.s.? >> there was some reports by festa get of journalists and then the level of the corruption just got to the point where it could no longer be ignored. the u.s. has some experience with this, with respect to the olympic games. that is how mitt romney came to prominence when he took that over. it was that that time when authorities realized that it wasn't just limited to deal ethics and it wasn't just limited to people in the united states but this is a global problem. over the course of years and rumors and the stories coming out of the world cup, the amount of money was so high, the
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flaunting of anti-money laundering regulations, the nonpayment of taxes, very large amounts of money. the unequal playing field in terms of countries and cities around the world. the main effects, the huge amount of money that is being generated is being hoarded by a few people illegally and it is not being distributed to those who should benefit. a guilty plea was entered more or less with what they call under seal temporarily, in secret last year. somebody who is a former official who helped to turn state's evidence, so to speak, he helped to gather evidence. it was really a combination of many things that got us to the sport -- to this point. reporter: what we saw yesterday, it could be the beginning.
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in terms of the investigation, where we going next? >> as you point out, even sepp blatter, who seems to be the clown and the middle of what is becoming a three ring circus is aware, they have been very clear statements from the u.s. authorities that the investigation is ongoing. the swiss authorities are involved and they have the primary territorial jurisdiction over the headquarters of fifa globally. there are a lot of indications that there are serious problems not only for the past world cups which have been discussed but for the ones in qatar and in russia which president cute and has been weighing on with some concern. i think the coming months and perhaps years will indeed be turbulent in that regard. reporter: do you think there were any organizations in which the legal committee might be interested in looking into?
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>> it depends on the evidence that is brought forward and the ramifications, the prosecutor tutorial -- the tutorial evidence that has to be brought forward. this is one that has its tentacles everywhere and it got to the point where it could no longer be ignored. the problem of doping in general is one that could be made analogous to this, if there are other big scandals which has engulfed the cycling community. major league baseball was caught in the crosshairs of a few investigations. it notably did not go well for the u.s. authorities. we may see other things but there is nothing that looms as large right now on the horizon. reporter: thanks for talking to us. david cameron has been meeting the french president francois hollande and paris. the latest stop on his european tour as he looks to win
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concessions from leaders ahead of the in out referendum on eu membership this june before the end of 2017. he is just left the palace here in paris. this is what he and the french president have had to say. david cameron: i believe there are changes that will not just in a fit britain but the rest of europe. what matters is the european union and its 28 members are flexible and imaginative enough to respond to these issues and to work together to make european more successful. >> france would like the united kingdom to stay in the european union. there will be a referendum, it has been announced. and it will be up to the british people to choose their future. we think that it is an interest of europe and the united kingdom to stay together.
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host: is he taking a stand for british rides are having his cake and eating it? we have more on what the british prime minister is looking for. reporter: david cameron has quite the wish list on his european visit. he is hoping to drum up continental support for renegotiating the new treaties. prime minister cameron: we need to make sure there is reform, and nationstates where comfortable. reporter: changing the way in which the new arrivals can get benefits. he wants a minimum four years before they qualify. for those who have an unemployed for at least six to face deportation. elsewhere, the british leaders seeking a two speed europe, essentially it hasn't been an
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option for the u.k. to put the brakes on increased european integration, the ever closer union that figures into the treaty. it would allow non-european members increased control. this ties in with cameron seeking a return of sovereign powers to national government, allowing them the right to block gestation from brussels should they see fit. a bill now set to start the clock ticking on a referendum over the continued existence within the eu the british public will be asked whether they want the u.k. to remain within the political bloc by the end of 2017. cameron is hoping to return to london with ammunition to use against eurosceptics in his own parliament. the question is how far eu member states will go to accommodate him. host: france has acquitted a former ally of nicholas sarkozy
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on charges of swindling millions of euros from france's richest woman. the judge has handed down a three-year jail sentence to a famed photographer in one of the longest-running scandals. reporter: the trials of the ultra rich. lillian betancourt is worth an estimated 66 billion euros. she is at the middle of a soap opera. the now 92-year-old only daughter sued a friend of her mothers's. but artist and photographer, he maintained that betancourt was just being generous with your gifts including over 400 million euros in bequests over four years. the rifle prerogative of a wealthy woman or the manipulation of a frail one? a court did roll that he did
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take advantage of betancourt and he was sentenced to three years in prison. the judicial investigation uncovered other scandals and questionable relations with her notary one of the implicated was eric worth, the once finance minister who is accused of taking cash envelopes to find nicholas sarkozy's campaign. the former president was questioned but let off for lack of evidence. he was cleared by the court thursday. betancourt's wealth manager, who was cleared of corruption but condemned, stood 30 months in prison for taking advantage of the woman, her entourage called madame. the verdict is in the last chapter of the saga. multiple trials are still pending. host: rare progress on talks over cypresses conflict.
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commentators are calling the move the most positive sign in more than a decade. relations are fine between the ethnically divided side. tanisha says it has arrested a's can rock and suspect over marches deadly attack. officials say that -- was detained at the border crossing with libya. 21 tourists were gunned down before being killed. -- before the gunmen were killed. officials in india say they're being overwhelmed. heat waves hit every summer but this year it has claimed nearly 1500 lives. the worst hit area where temperatures have been hitting the highest 40's. cooler weather is on the way. some southern states in the
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united states bracing for further storms as the death goal continues to rise after recent flooding. 21 people have been killed after 10 days of severe weather. they are continuing to search for missing people. reporter: may is the wettest month on record in texas. the seven state has been battered by torrential downpours and strong wind. cars have been submerged, houses destroyed, lives have been lost. san marcus about 265 kilometers west of houston is one of the worst affected areas. >> we have thousands of homes that are damaged, some totally lost. this jurisdiction, we have 744 homes that were impacted in either a severe or some way. reporter: houston the u.s.'s fourth most populated city has also been devastated. at least 200,500 vehicles have
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been abandoned. >> we had three inches of water here. do you see without green line is? >> we have a carpet cutting knife and i will be cutting carpet and padding for the past couple of days. >> we saw the level outside was higher than the level inside and that was really frightening as it was flowing in. reporter: with forecasters warning of more heavy rain to come, the threat is far from over. host: time for media watch. you have been looking for reaction to all of the major news stories and you will start us off with tonight's frank and dave show? >> could put and remove
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themselves from the european union? there will be a referendum, we don't know when. one of the most interesting comments comes from right here in france. they have said to the eurosceptic brits, you cannot join a football club and then decide to play rugby. it is a phrase he has used before but it was clearly affected there. he has taught at that one out again. he thinks it does hit home and to be fair, it does. the idea of a btrixit is something that david cameron doesn't want to have happen. he wants to tell people i am in control, not europe. you can vote yes to the idea of being in the european union. harris is saying that he is taking a big risk with this one, that it is quite dangerous. the british are custom to being told that europe is bad and come
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the day when they get to decide, that might be the way that they go. david cameron is taking a very big chance there. there's also a lot to talk about, what exactly will be printed? what question will people be asked. should the u.k. remain a member of the european union? what this article points out, in the power of warding, that it is much easier to campaign for people to vote yes then no. it was deemed that people automatically want to agree there is a sort of psychological thing going on. one of the other interesting things they discovered is when the electoral commission actually asked some people in britain, how would you answer these questions to gauge idea of exactly what reaction they have to these things, they found some people didn't even know that britain was in the eu in the first place. that kind of thing could skew
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the vote. host: plenty more fee for material. -- fifa material. reporter: we had a statement from him yesterday. no one was impressed by it. the events of yesterday have passed a long shadow over football and over this week's congress. the actions of individuals is proven bring shame and humiliation of foot of and demand reaction from all. what everyone is pointing out is that there is the mention of his involvement or his culpability because he has not been arrested, he is not been accused of anything. however, he is in charge. a sickly he's saying, it is other people and it has brought shame on football, nothing to do with me. of course, lots and lots of reactions. he says he is the man to reform
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fifa and rebuild trust. he has been there for 40 years. do you actually know someone who doesn't hold you responsible? elsewhere, we have got this cartoon which, you do see a fair bit of unsportsmanlike behavior on the pitch when it comes to football and they are drawing a parallel with the officials rolling on the floor pretending to be injured. other articles, mashable is saying, how do you fix fifa, you tear it down and start all over. they say they have understated the case. they started out by saying, this is not good in terms of image. is the biggest understatement i've ever heard. they also talk about the fact there was a bbc documentary which called into question the awarding of the world cup. it was seen as something that really put to bed any idea that
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england could host the world cup. of course now, people are asking, well, maybe this should be looked at again. perhaps if we take a look at the financial times, they say that sepp blatter is a genius because they realize what question are simply don't matter anymore. in this article, he likens sepp blatter to a concierge who knows who has all of the money, who to suck up to to make sure they get a share of it. host: time to say hello to markus karlsson, our business editor, starting off with reaction to what has been going on marcus: some of the biggest sponsors have come out, calling on fee for to basically change its ways. the set is the sharpest critics so far when it comes to fifa.
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they say that they will reassess their sponsorship. several banks are also in the spotlight after they were named in the investigation. michelle: an alleged scheme which could spark a domino effect. adidas and coca-cola are among those who have made accusations at fifa while visa has threatened to cut ties if the world body has not cleaned up its act. >> it is important that other sponsors reflect on their links to fifa. reporter: a multinational company received primes to seal a deal with the national football federation. they don't name the firm but the
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website indicates that they signed a licensing deal with brazil's national same year. and it is not just major sponsors who find themselves in the spotlight, 12 local banks including j.p. morgan citigroup, and hsbc have been named in the indictment. for now, none of the banks cited in the investigation have been accused of any wrongdoing. host: let's move on. greece take center stage at some of the worlds most powerful finance officials are meeting in germany. the talks break together finance ministers and central bankers from the group of seven. there are fears of greece defaulting on its debts and this has dominated the statement. they want to secure more bailout funds from the eurozone. there are differing opinions on how close a deal really is.
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in germany, the head of the international monetary fund rejected greek claims that a deal is close. >> there has been some movements on several accounts. on pension reform on the civil service, but there's is still a lot of work to be done. >> this optimism that they are expressing is not just empty words. it is based on specific facts. based on all of the work we have done in this past week and the progress that has been made. posts: two different stories. we did see that uncertainty over greece putting pressure on european stocks throughout thursday session. european stocks mostly closing lower on thursday. the frankfurt, dax down a tense of a percent.
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-- a 10th of a percent. it was really that uncertainty over greece, whether there will be won't be a deal before deadline next week. under 35 minutes to go. we are seeing this is in negative territory. it follows an all-time high by the nasdaq on wednesday. perhaps it is only natural to see a little bit of a sell off when it comes to those american indices. the american of americans that apply for jobless benefits last week also popped up somewhat surprisingly which may also be putting some pressure on those american shares. let's bring you up-to-date with a few other stories.
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when chinese stock markets were rocked by a sharp selloff shanghai's main stock index ended the session six and a half percent lower. that was the sharpest drop since january. a number includes a position by china's main sovereign wealth fund.
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rom pacifica, this is democracy now! >> there are 500 information requests from media, into what has been happening with wikileaks. it has been brought under the excuse that to release such information would be to help us to assist the prosecution. amy: five years after chelsea manning was arrested for leaking secret

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